Glass: What Is and What Isn't Recyclable

Recycling glass saves a ton of resources for every ton recycled. Since glass never wears out it can be recycled forever. Most glass containers have about 25% recycled glass content, saving about 30% of the energy used to make the glass.

Takoma Park recycles glass bottles and jars, any size, any color, with or without labels, and unbroken. Yes, we all know that when they dump the recyclables into the truck some things get broken, and that ultimately the recycler will crush the glass into "cullet", but because they are color-sorted by hand at the facility it is requested that only unbroken items be placed in the bin.

Some glass items are not recyclable. Light bulbs, drinking glasses, window panes, mirrors, pyrex ware, crystal, china and pottery are made from different materials, melt at different temperatures and are therefore not recyclable with glass bottles. Some of these items when crushed with regular glass will contaminate an entire lot, making all of it unrecyclable.

• Your Pickup Schedule: What to Put Out and When
• Holiday Collection Schedule
• Precycling: Reducing Waste Before Purchase
• Yard Trimmings: Leaves, Grass, and Branches
• Composting: Making Friends of Earthworms
• Glass: What Is and What Isn't Recyclable
• Metals Containers: Just Rinse & Recycle
• Appliances: CFC's And You
• Plastics: Expanded Beyond Bottles
• Got Milk? You can now recycle the container!
• Paper: Newspaper, Cardboard and Junk Mail
• Computer and Electronics Recycling
• Compact Flourescent Bulbs: Recycle - Don’t Break
• Hazardous Materials: Not For the Regular Trash
• Motor Oil and Antifreeze: For the Do-It-Yourselfers
• Dumpsters & Storage Pods - Permit Required
• Donations: Trash to Treasure
• City, County and State Telephone Numbers
• Map to Public Works Department